MLB Network Video Vignettes to “Re-Create” Willie Mays’ Famous Catch

MLB Network tonight will unveil the finale in the series of video vignettes that “re-create” classic moments in baseball history, imagining how those moments may have looked with camera angles that did not exist at the time. The last of these vignettes, a look at Willie Mays’ famous catch during Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, in which he caught a fly ball over his shoulder in centerfield off Cleveland’s Vic Wertz, will air as part of MLB Tonight’s pre-game show before Thursday Night Baseball with the Orioles at the Royals, beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET.

There have been six of these “re-creations” in all, created in conjunction with B.I.G. Studios in Toronto. Others included Jackie Robinson stealing home vs. Yogi Berra and the Yankees in the 1955 World Series and Bob Gibson striking out a World Series-record 17 batters in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series. The clips have been unveiled one per week over the first six weeks of the season on Thursday nights prior to the start of Thursday Night Baseball.

The vignettes are designed to spark further discussion as to how each moment could have looked differently had modern media technology existed at that time. The new camera angles were created through the use of sophisticated software and digital compositing. They used prosthetics and body doubles as well and intentionally distressed the final recreated moments to integrate them seamlessly into the original footage.